Imagine a world where you are always connected to the Net. A world where you can rid yourself of your 7 pound laptop its heavy hard drive and all the software and applications installed on it. Imagine not having to ensure you have the latest version of your office productivity suite, web browser, CRM app, etc. This imaginary world is closer to reality than we think and these tiny startups are providing the code and tools to get us there quickly.

Look at Windows Live and Google Personalized. Look at the browser-based word processing startup (writely) that Google just acquired. Before we know it, we will be able to access all of our content (structured and unstructured data) and services (applications) remotely from the Web. We will be able to carry out this interaction from any device, anywhere in the world, and we will be able to interact with the network regardless of who we are or our relationship with the Net and other constituents on the Net.

Take Sun's Sun Ray Server Software thin client concept to the Net and allow the Net to be the server and allow access from any device with connectivity to the Net.

The only remaining service left to be figured out is our identity. That is, an open, utility-based, hosted, and online clearinghouse that controls the authorization and authentication of our content and services. Simply, who we are, what we have access to, and the credentials we need to "trust" that what we are accessing is ours and that we control who has access to our content and services.

Edward Tufte has written seven books, including Visual Explanations, Envisioning Information, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, and Data Analysis for Politics and Policy. He writes, designs, and self-publishes his books on analytical design, which have received more than 40 awards for content and design. He is Professor Emeritus at Yale University, where he taught courses in statistical evidence, information design, and interface design. His current work includes landscape sculpture, printmaking, video and a new book.

I have been using Google Analytics since it was in Alpha/Beta and I have to say it is a really awesome FREE web analytics tool. I just wish they would give you some sort of RSS option so that I can get "reporting" via my reader. I'm really not into that whole going to many places to get my information... ;-) - I prefer the one stop shop/view feature that readers afford.

I have also been using Google Apps for your Domain but since I get my domain's POP email through Gmail (you don't have to change your domain MX records) I really don't need it - since it is just my wife and I that use email on my domain.

We are seeing a convergence of Portal, Dashboard, CM, DM, BI, Web App Dev, and KM. KM not as a discipline, but rather, as integral components of the portal (i.e. weblogs, wikis, collaboration, RSS Feeds, threaded email discussions, instant messaging, expert locators, social networks, communities, search, taxonomy, etc.). We also know that our customers are seeing this convergence as well. We are actually delivering it to them in many instances. The vendors are certainly seeing it with the recent mergers and acquisitions that have occurred. And the analysts are seeing it. We also know that the Portal (in some form or another) will be the desktop. We know that the ultimate end game is control of the desktop. The Portal. It will be an interesting race to see who is prepared to be first to market with this offering and with this message. That is, the message of convergence.

This shift in technology and business enablers I spoke about earlier is nothing less than a paradigm shift. Let’s make sure we are not only first to market with this message, but also, best to market. Best to market implies smarter and faster than our competition. It means crafting the message to the market and educating our sales staff affording us the opportunity to implement and deliver upon this paradigm shift.